V. I.

Lenin

The Third Congress of the R.S.D.L.P.

April 12 (25)-April 27 (May 10), 1905

5

Speech on the Question of the Armed Uprising

April 15 (28)

Ithas been said here that the question is clear enough in
principle. Nevertheless, statements have been made in Social-Democratic
literature (see Iskra , No. 62, and Comrade Axelrod’s foreword to the
pamphlet by “A Worker”) which go to show that the question is not so clear
after all. Iskra and Axelrod talked about conspiracy and expressed the
fear that too much thought would be given to the up rising.

The facts show, however, that there has been too little thought on the subject.... In his
foreword to the pamphlet by “A Worker”, Comrade Axelrod maintains
that it can only be a question of an uprising of the “uncivilised
masses”. Events have shown that we are dealing, not with an uprising of
the “uncivilised masses”, but with an uprising of politically
conscious masses capable of carrying on an organised struggle. The entire
history of the past year proved that we underestimated the significance and the
inevitability of the uprising. Attention must be paid to the practical aspect of
the matter. In this respect the experience of those engaged in practical work
and of the workers of St. Petersburg, Riga, and the Caucasus is of exceptional
importance. I would suggest, therefore, that the comrades tell us of their
experience; that will make our discussion practical instead of academic. We
must ascertain the mood of the proletariat—whether the workers consider
themselves fit to struggle and to lead the struggle. We must sum up this
collective experience, from which no generalised conclusions have as yet been
drawn.

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